


Never regret thy fall

by Gedankentaenzer



Category: Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF
Genre: Gods, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Ikarus, M/M, Multi, icarus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 20:10:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19383844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gedankentaenzer/pseuds/Gedankentaenzer
Summary: Icarus had no regrets. And even though the sea and the sun had killed him, they still loved him.





	Never regret thy fall

"Give him back to us", Helios and Apollo demand.  
"No", answers Poseidon, "He was never yours. You let him fall."  
"We had no choice", Apollo cries, "His wings weren't strong enough."  
"And his body wasn't light enough. The waves got him and he's mine now."  
"He loves us", the gods of the sun declare, "His father told him not too and he did anyway. He loves us."  
"It was just arrogance. Ambition, if I'm kind. He burned his wings."  
"You're just jealous of his passion for us. We were unreachable and he reached out his hand anyway."  
"Give him to us", Helios demands, "He fell because of our heat. His death is our responsibility."  
It isn't. Neither of them is responsible. But Hades hasn't shown up yet to claim him and he has his reasons.  
Yes, he fell. But I caught him on my waves. He drowned by my side."  
"You're being preposterous", Apollo pouts.  
"You're being childish", is Poseidon answer.  
Helios sighs, but then starts the argument again. He wants that boy that came closer to them than any other human being.  
They find no solution. Overnight the stay quiet, at day they are bickering again. Their argument grows worse at dusk and dawn.  
It takes a stupidly long time until they decide to ask Zeus for help. Neither of them likes the idea, but it might be a step forward.  
Hades never comes. They see Thanatos in the corner of their eyes, but he doesn't come nearer.  
Zeus, like he usually is, is annoyed by their request to save and protect a young human man.  
They remind him of the humans he favored himself and they all try to avoid the deadly glares Hera shoots their way.  
Zeus promises them a compromise and sends them away.  
He turns the man into a seabird.  
Light enough to float on water and with wings to take him up to the sky.  
But Poseidon is Zeus' brother and Apollo his son. They have known his tricks long enough to bypass them.  
Under the sea and above the clouds the man is human.  
They care for him. But they're still gods and always stay a bit different. They tend to his needs, sometimes more, sometimes less, because gods are good at being selfish. Sometimes he asked himself if they would be that passionate about him if they didn't have to share them. But because he travels back and forth between the sky and the water he is never quite theirs alone. And in between, he manages to keep some freedom for himself.  
He doesn't care if they are driven by jealousy or other motives. They still want him.  
Poseidon still has some of the molten wax that fell into the ocean. Apollo and Helios keep some of the feathers that floated in the air long after he hit the surface of the water.  
He really can't complain.  
If Zeus finds out about their little secret he doesn't bother with involving himself any further. From what the man has heard he is busy enough.  
He also heard other things. The sun makes its way around the earth and wherever water is humans are there too.  
Some tell his story. Make him an example Don't get too arrogant, don't reach for the unreachable, they say. You will fall like him. You will fall deeply from so high above.  
But that isn't the lesson that he learned. It wasn't arrogance that drove him up so far. It was love, it was hope, it was joy. He has no regrets. Even as he fell he couldn't feel sad.  
The humans that use him as an example got it wrong. He wasn't too arrogant, his wings just weren't strong enough.  
If he reached for something unreachable, it was just because no one had reached it before.  
And if they had wings like him, they would think differently.  
His death had been regrettable. Unfortunate. But to not have felt the wind under his wings, the salty air in his breath and the sun on his skin would have been the biggest regret. They turned his death into a tragedy. But the true tragedy would have been had never lived like that.  
It was a pleasant addition that he won the favor of the gods.  
His father had warned him of both of them. The sun and the sea.  
And he had been right. They both let him die.  
His father had told him neither to fly too high or too low. Everything had the right balance. It was a mindset, his life and it made sense because his father was an Ingenieur.  
But he wasn't. He was born to fly and to burn and be embraced by the cold.  
He was torn apart between extremes and he liked it.  
It had a balance of it's on. He got burned by the heat and space and then dark water healed him with soothing cold and a tight embrace. Until he began to freeze and the desire for air had him soaring the sky towards the sun again.  
And either up or down, the gods welcomed him with open arms. Their touch damaged his skin and he still chased their lips, insatiable.  
The sun and the sea killed him.  
But he would burn his wings a thousand times to feel alive like that.  
And Poseidon and the gods of the sun would let him die again. But they wouldn't let him go.  
If Ikarus couldn't fly, falling was the next best thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Will I ever grow out of my Greek Mythology phase? No, never.  
> I wrote this in March on my way back from work and rediscovered it this morning. And I liked it enough to upload it.  
> Tell me if you liked it and please keep in mind that I'm not a native speaker.  
> Anyone else still this obsessed with ancient gods?
> 
> Thanks for reading  
> Gedankentaenzer


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